Fairy Tail Hits The Books
by M.MDelphine4
Summary: After running away from home, Lucy heads to the one place she will be happy. Fiore Wizard Academy in Magnolia. Watch Lucy get into school and fall in love. Adventure awaits at the academy. AU! Fun twist on Fairy Tail, while still being realistic for Fairy Tail! Nalu! Gale! Gruvia! Jerza! (But primarily Nalu)
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note:**_

 _Thank you for clicking on my newest story! Can't wait to see what all of you think. It's an AU and primarily Nalu (I love those two). I have enjoyed writing this first chapter. I will admit it is a bit slow, but that's because its explaining the story sort of. When reading, just think of the potential the story holds! Anyhow I am trying to cut down on the length of my author's notes, because soon, no one will actually take the time to read them. So enjoy!_

 _Forever After,_

 _The Author, Madalyn_

In the great land of Fiore, there is magic. Magic is a part of everyday life to the point where people hardly realize when they are doing it anymore. Although, some people, devote their lives to magic. They make their living off of magic. But, ill-trained magic can end in the wizard turning out evil. Therefore, about fifty or so years prior to this day, a woman named Mavis decided to start an academy for young wizards to practice their craft and develop their skill. This academy was named Fiore Wizard Academy (the F.W.A).

The academy was currently lead by the magic council. It was then broken down into divisions that had their own individual headmaster. Each headmaster gave their division a name to help give that division its own kind of pride. To get into a division, before you go to the school, you have to get the division to take you in. The division that ranked the highest for strongest wizards was the division known as Fairy Tail, run by the wizard Saint, Makorav.

-⊂((・⊥・))⊃-

Currently, a young woman named Lucy Heartfilia was in a small town named Hargeon. She was walking around with a bafflingly confusing expression that crossed between happy and sad. Her expression was likely due to the fact that she had just run away from home. She had been mistreated by her father enough and finally gained the courage to up and leave.

She had bright blonde hair and a perfect hourglass figure. All in all, she was beautiful! At her side was a simple trunk filled with all the necessities (clothes, hair brush, soap, etc…). She was walking towards the train station after leaving a magic store, where the only good product they sold was a silver gate key. Suddenly Lucy heard a commotion in the middle of town, and decided to check out what was causing the ruckus.

Tons of people were crowded around a bulletin board staring at a single piece of paper. She walked up and tapped someone with purple hair on the shoulder. The purple haired girl turned around with a questioning expression.

"Excuse me, but do you know what's going on?" Lucy quizzically asked.

The girl's face brightened. "Well it's the paper talking about Fiore Wizard Academy. You know, about how to enroll!" She smiled brightly at Lucy and Lucy's eyes widened.

 _F.W.A! I've always wanted to go there! Father may have refused to allow me to go, but father isn't in charge of me anymore. I'm a wizard and Fiore Wizard Academy is where wizards belong!_ Lucy thought and then, ignoring the rambling from the purple haired girl, began plowing past everyone to the front of the herd of people. She stared at the paper and read the location of the school. _Magnolia._ Now at least she knew where to ride the train to.

As soon as she memorized the address, she bolted from the herd of people. It wasn't hard to get into the academy, but getting into a good division certainly was a difficult process. Especially since Lucy was shooting for the very best division. _Fairy Tail_. She had become obsessed with them ever since she started picking up the Sorcerer Weekly magazine. Which always contained a few articles on the school.

The train station was about a twenty minute walk, but with Lucy's newfound excitement and increased adrenaline, her legs carried her there in five. Purchasing a ticket to Magnolia, she began walking to where the train was located. It was getting ready to depart from the station so she inwardly thanked her legs for running. She got on through the only door that remained open, just to find that the car was jam packed. Heaving a sigh she looked around for an open seat.

One seat remained available and Lucy saw that the person sitting across from it was talking to a blue cat (and if you're wondering, that was not a typo. The cat was, in fact, blue.). Lucy looked stunned but shook her head to rid of the crazy expression. Her eyes landed on the guy next to the feline and finally noticed his appearance. He had spiky pink hair that seemed indecisive on which way it should part, a rather tan complexion, and dark seemingly black eyes that felt as if they could burn their appearance into your mind and eventually see into your soul.

Lucy swallowed hard. "Excuse me sir?" She asked.

The man didn't seem to hear her and just continued talking to his blue cat. "I just don't get why we had to take this stupid train! It's not like it's a long walk."

"Sir?" Lucy repeated patiently awaiting him to notice her.

"Oh Natsu, you're an idiot if you think that walk would be quick and short. Everyone would start to wonder what happened to you." The cat explained with an all too cheery tone.

Lucy cleared her throat ready to speak again, but the guy, Natsu, beat her to it. "Yeah yeah." He said waving off the cat's concerns. "I suppose Gramps does expect us back by tonight, but we could just say that the job took a little longer than expected. Or! That the train broke down. So we had to walk!" He seemed thrilled at the idea of not riding the train which was something Lucy couldn't determine the reason to.

Lucy readied herself to scream but she was out of time. Suddenly the train lurched forward, throwing Lucy on top of Natsu's lap. Natsu's arms instinctively wrapped around her.

"Good catch Natsu!" The cat exclaimed.

Lucy looked up at Natsu, and a blush heavily painted her cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" She blurted and saw his stunned face contort into a giddy grin.

"It's no big deal! Happy I could keep you from falling!" He was squinting his eyes due to the complexity of his grin.

Lucy quickly stood up and asked. "Uh, is this seat taken?"

He shook his head. "Nope! Please, sit!" He motioned his right hand towards the open seat, and Lucy happily obliged. "So, what's your name?" Natsu asked her as the cat stared at his companion as if he were a stranger. His friend was confusing him with his lack of nausea.

"Lucy Heartfilia. I've already gathered that your name was Natsu, but your cat here never said your last name." She spoke calmly, but with a smile on her face. Her hand motioning to the feline.

"Dragneel.." He said weakly, and his face began going pale.

"Are you okay!?" Lucy questioned with worry in her voice.

"Aye!" The blue cat answered for him. "Don't worry. This happens all the time. I was actually surprised he held on this long. Usually, the second the train moves he is ready to hurl."

"Motion sickness?" Lucy asked.

"Aye! I'm happy by the way!" Happy gleefully stated.

"Happy?" Lucy let out a slight chuckle and then her smile returned. "Your personality certainly represents your name!"

"That's why Natsu named me that. He said when I hatched, I was just a bundle of happiness!" The cat looked at his pink haired friend, remembering the day he was born.

"Did you say, hatched?" Lucy was confused. Cats don't hatch from an egg. They are born from their mother!

"Yep! If you haven't noticed, I'm not your normal cat." Happy's voice was filled with laughter.

"No kidding…" Lucy said but her mind was already drifting far away. She glanced at Natsu, feeling slightly bad for him. Soon, after watching the world zip past her through the trains small sized window, she began to feel her eyes getting heavy. Lucy came upon the decision to give into the temptation of sleep, letting her mind dream of the academy that awaited her.

Lucy awoke to the conductor announcing that the train had finally reached its destination. Opening her eyes slowly she yawned loudly, stretching out her arms. Her eyes wandered to Happy and Natsu and laughed at what she saw.

"Natsu! The train has stopped moving, we gotta get off!" Happy was shaking Natsu's shoulder but he was clearly no match for Natsu's extreme motion sickness.

"Hey cat, let me give it a try." She said and stood from her seat. Lucy, ever so gently, kicked him in the shin getting him to open his eyes. "You want to have to ride this train again? Get up or you'll have to endure the pain you're in for an even longer time."

He stared at her, but soon stood as well. He was clearly still sick, but he had no intention of riding the train again. He began to stumble of the train. Lucy followed behind, giggling slightly whenever he would ever so slightly trip.

"Thanks for getting Natsu off the train!" happy smiled, and Lucy returned the smile.

"No problem. Anyway, are you guys from around here?" Lucy questioned the two, and Natsu, though still slightly out of it gave her an answer.

"Yeah. We live at the Academy." Natsu said as he rubbed his eyes.

"You do?!" Lucy screeched, drawing the attention of everyone in a forty foot radius. Natsu covered his ears dues to the loud sound. "Sorry!" Lucy said but she was still beaming. "But it's just so perfect I ran into you! That's where I'm heading, but I've no clue how to get there." She giggled. "I honestly wouldn't have pegged you as a wizard."

Natsu looked offended. "And why would you not? I happen to be a very powerful wizard. A dragon slayer!" Lucy blinked in confusion.

"I'm sorry but what's a dragon slayer?" Lucy asked, and Natsu chuckled.

"Dragon slayer magic is an ancient magic that was used to defeat dragons when they were more common. My father taught me!" he said proudly, and in a way that suggested Lucy to be slightly ignorant for not knowing the term.

"Awww! That's so sweet! So you and your dad practice the same magic?" Lucy was surprised when Natsu laughed.

"Nope! My father _is_ a dragon!" Natsu laughed harder when he saw Lucy's eyes go wide with horror and her mouth dropped.

"He's a, a, a, what?!" She finally exclaimed, after a struggle to get her words out.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'll bring you to the academy." Natsu turned his head to look somewhere. "What magic do you use? And what division of the school do you plan on joining?"

"I'm a celestial spirit wizard." She then brought her voice low. "I'm going for Fairy Tail!" She whisper exclaimed.

"Really?! That's mine and Happy's division!" He said excitedly. "If you've got good spirits then you'll get in no problem. Everyone always wants the celestial spirit wizards!"

"Sweet!" She said doing a little victory move. "And yeah, I've got some great keys. Tons of the zodiacs!" She finished.

"Well then, let's go!" Natsu yelled then grabbed Lucy by the wrist and began dragging her off. Excitement was coursing through her veins as she ran, hand in hand with Natsu. _I'm going to go to Fiore Wizard Academy! I'm going to join Fairy Tail! Take that father!_

 _ **Authors Note:**_

 _Well I hope you enjoyed my new story! Please give me some feedback so I know whether I should continue it or not! Check out my other stories if you're a big Nalu fan (literally all I write about). Lol! I should really work on some variety. Well anyway, bye bye! See ya!_

 _The Author, Madalyn_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _Hello! Welcome to chapter two! I feel like i did a good job on how quickly i updated. It only took like two days or so for this chapter to come out. Oh! And by the way, if you want to see some romance already, go to my profile and click on my stories, then click on my story 'Sing Like An Angel, Shine Like A Star'. Natsu and Lucy just got together in that story, so yeah. Plus well, I love that story! I also like this one so far, and I have lots of ideas for it. Anyhow, like I said in the last chapter, I am attempting to make shorter author's notes, and I realize this one is far from short but, I tried you know. Also, I had lots to say! Well anyway, Enjoy chapter two of 'Fairy Tail Hits The Books'!_

 _====(' ~ ')====_

Natsu was guiding Lucy off to who knows where. Finally it hit her, _I'm letting a random, dare I say strange, guy drag me off to who knows where. He could be serial killer, or a rapist, with a severe motion sickness problem._ She thought to herself, and with that realization, fear hit her. And it hit her hard like a brick wall that just showed up out of nowhere on a morning jog.

"Hey Luce?" Natsu spoke up, his face wore a questioning look. She snapped out of her daze, only to meet his confused stricken look. Lucy just nodded her head in response. "Why do you look like that?"

"Look like what?" She asked, struck by a confusion of her own.

"Scared? I think that is what that look is." he stared as her face started to go a little red. "You look like Wendy when she is getting yelled at by Carla."

The pink faded from Lucy's cheeks as confusion consumed her once again. "Wendy? Carla? And for your information, I'm not scared!"

"Then what's that face for?" Natsu retorted.

"It's not for anything! It doesn't have a reason!" She snapped, crossing her arms, over her rather busty chest, and letting out a loud 'Humph!'.

"I don't believe you. And it's rather rude to lie. It makes an awfully bad first impression." His voice dripped with the sound of a playful attitude.

"I-I'm not l-l-lying!" She snapped nervously.

"Then why is your heart racing, and why are you sweating?" Natsu teased, with a small smirk on his face. He was clearly enjoying torturing her like this.

"I-I-I, how did you know my heart was racing?" She asked, getting more nervous by the second.

Natsu let out a small laugh. "Dragon slayers have heightened senses. I can _hear_ it. And as for your sweating, that much I can see." His face became one of compassion. "You know, you don't have to lie about being scared. It's pointless. I can smell your fear. As weird and creepy as that sounds."

It was Lucy's turn to laugh. "What are you, a bloodhound?" She continued with her laughter.

"Hardy- har- har." He said with as much sarcasm as he could shove in the few words. "Why are you scared anyway?"

"You can't blame for being a little apprehensive and scared. I'm walking around with a stranger! You could be leading me to my death for all I know!" She was throwing her hands in the air to reiterate her point.

Natsu looked slightly offended and was taken aback by her rant. "Jeez, what happened to you to make you think so low of people?" Natsu said, arms crossed.

"You wouldn't want to know. And no matter what has happened in my past, haven't you ever heard the saying, 'Don't talk to strangers'? Yeah well, you're a stranger." she said, matter a factly.

Natsu huffed, "I don't know how things worked back where you used to live, but everyone in Magnolia are friends. Yeah there are some bad people, but they are dealt with."

"How am I supposed to know you aren't one of those bad guys? Huh?!" She snapped, beginning to raise her voice. "I'm sorry I have trust issues! But you can't blame me for not trusting you, when you have done nothing to earn my trust!"

Natsu let out a loud sigh, then taking a few deep breaths he said, "Fine, Fine! Let's just get to the school. But look, if you're going to be with me, then I'll need ya to trust me."

"Alright, I guess I could find a way to trust you." She said with a sigh.

"Thanks Luce!" He said, his sour mood now sweet. Once again, Natsu took hold of her hand, and sprinted off with her practically tripping at his heels.

After about an hour or so of running, they finally arrived in front of a rather huge structure. Flying off of the roof of the school was a flag with weird symbol on it. Lucy tried to make out the symbol, but all she was capable of doing was staring in confusion.

"Welcome to Fiore Wizard Academy! And that flag you're staring at, that's the flag for our division of the school, Fairy Tail! It may look odd, but really, it's just a fairy with a tail. This is Fairy Tail's building. The academy has tons of buildings! One for each division. Ours is probably the biggest at the school, considering we are ranked number one." Natsu explained to ease Lucy's confusion.

"It's really is huge!" She exclaimed.

"Well a lot of its size is due to the dorms. We have a large number of students in our division, and gramps wants everyone to be comfortable with a decent sized room. Basically, if you're a part of Fairy Tail, you live a good life!" He continued the explanation with a bright smile on his face. "Anyway, let's go introduce you to gramps!"

"Who's Gramps?" She asked.

"Headmaster Makarov. I call him gramps, cause he's old, and I've known him since I was a kid. A lot of us have." Lucy stared in bewilderment. _What?! He calls the headmaster gramps?_

"And I'm the weird one…" She chuckled deep in her throat.

"You are." He plainly stated. Before she could say something snarky in response, he spoke. "Now c'mon! You'll love the headmaster!" He exclaimed, and once again gave her little time to respond before dragging her to and through the entrance of the large building. Natsu dragged her down a hallway and when they passed by a trophy case, Lucy dug her heels in the ground.

"Hold on! I want to see this. Plus, I just can't run anymore!" She bent over, placing her hands on her knees, and began panting. After recovering she saw Natsu wearing a coy smile. She turned her head and attention over to the trophy case. There she saw a series of pictures and trophies. On quite a few of the pictures, there was Natsu. "You've made quite your mark here haven't you?"

"Guess you could say that." He said it as if it were nothing. Just another daily fact you might learn in History class.

"How? Aren't you a freshman like me?" ( _ **Super duper Speedy Quick Authors Note:**_ _You begin school at Fiore Wizard Academy at the age of seventeen. I considered making it eighteen and making it a college, but I felt like that would be too late to begin wizard training._ _ **Now Back to Your regularly scheduled Story**_ ) Lucy asked, not understanding how someone who hasn't even been able to go the school yet, was able to make a huge impression on the division.

"I'm really good at some of the sports they got here, so they let me play." Again, he explained it simply.

With a cross of her arms she asked, "And what sports are those?"

Natsu smirked, "Let's see, Magical Cross country, I'm real good at the high jump!" He noticed her confused expression and went into further detail. "Basically, you use your magic to jump as high as you can, and fire is such a great propeller. I'm also real good at races, when using my fire. And the other sport is called Magical Martial Arts! Basically we fight using our powers."

"Real creative names." She said with a role of her eyes, and they continued down the long space. Eventually they came across a room that had the words headmaster written on a gold plaque, that rested on the door. Natsu didn't even bother knocking and instead just barged in. "Natsu! You have to knock!" Lucy whisper screamed.

"It's alright miss. Natsu has never been one with manners." A small, yet strong voice stated. Lucy peered in the room, and there, sitting in a rather large chair, was a rather small man.

"That's not true Gramps!" Natsu whined with mock offense. Although he did settle into a chair, arms crossed, with a pouty expression on his face. Lucy snickered awkwardly, while inwardly she scolded herself for making any noise. "Natsu, do you mind telling me who this young lady is?"

With a loud 'humph' that his pouty had no effect on the old man, he sat up and calmly said, "Gramps, this is Lucy. I met her on the train ride back from Hargeon, you know, after you sent me to hang those stupid flyers that practically got me trampled!" He shook away his annoyance before continuing, "Anyway, She wants to get into Fairy Tail, and I thought I would help her."

Makarov's smile turned devious. "Why did you want to help her so bad?"

Noticing his meaning behind his words, Natsu blushed, while Lucy stood oblivious to what was going on. He scratched the back of his neck in discomfort. "Well, y'know, she is a celestial wizard so I figured we should get her above any other division. Plus she saved me from having to ride the train again, so I owed her one."

"A celestial wizard?" the headmaster asked, turning to Lucy.

"Yes sir." Lucy said with a nod of her head.

"Oh please, don't be so formal." He then gestured to the empty chair next to Natsu that sat right across from his desk. "Please sit."

"Thank you." Lucy said as she took her seat next to Natsu.

"So my dear, what's your name?" He questioned.

"Lucy Heartfilia." She responded.

"Well Lucy, may I ask what keys you have?" Makarov inquired.

"Yes, of course sir!" Lucy reached down to her side, and grabbed the small brown pocket that held her keys. She handed them to the headmaster to take a good look at. His face went from smiley to shocked when he saw the amount of keys.

"Wow! You have fifteen keys! And ten of them are zodiac keys!" Makarov exclaimed in astonishment, with Natsu, after registering His headmaster's words, felt his own jaw drop.

Lucy wore a cheeky grin and giggled slightly, "Yes sir! Some of them used to be my mother's before she passed away."

"I'm sorry. I remember when that came on the news. Your mother was beautiful young lady. You look a lot like her." Makarov said sympathetically.

A light blush painted Lucy's cheeks. "Thank you sir."

"There you go again with the formalities. Please, call me Makarov." Makarov said with a smile.

"I don't think I can do that." Lucy took note of Makarov's expression and smiled shyly. "It's just. My mother said that it is a sign of respect to call someone sir or miss or ma'am."

Natsu let out a small laugh, earning him a glare from Makarov. "Well I'd greatly prefer it if you'd just call me Makarov, Lucy."

"If you insist si- Makarov." She said, having to correct her slip of the tongue.

"There you go." Makarov's voice was filled with excitement. "Now considering your number of keys, I don't doubt your fighting skills. And with such impressive keys, you'd be a great asset to our division of the school. So, Lucy Heartfilia, I grant you acceptance into Fairy Tail and the Fiore Wizard Academy."

"Really?!" She spoke in disbelief. She jumped up from the seat and grabbed the short man's hand. "Thank you so much sir! I promise you won't regret this!"

"I don't expect to. I believe you will be a great part of the Fairy Tail family." He exclaimed, as Natsu just sat watching Lucy's happiness. He felt his heart start to race and his palms were sweaty. _What is this feeling? I have never felt something like this before._ Natsu thought to himself, confused by his emotions. "Is that okay with you Natsu?" Makarav asked, snapping Natsu out of his daze. He noticed Lucy's expectant stare, and froze up, unsure of how to proceed.

"Umm, yes?" He asked, questioning himself amd his response, but when he saw Lucy's hurt expression, he quickly spoke again. "Yes! That'll be perfectly fine." He waited, nervous due to the lack of knowledge on what he was doing.

"Well then enjoy your tour of the grounds and the school." Then Makarov opened up his desk drawer, pulling out three keys. He handed the three keys to Lucy. "This one," Makorav pointed to a medium sized brass key, "is your room key. Room number seventy-six. Feel free to decorate it to your hearts content. This key," he said pointing to a small silver key, "is for your locker. Locker one eighty-five. And finally, this key," He pointed to an oddly shaped red key, that had the Fairy tail symbol imprinted on the top of it, "Is for the girls lounge. Please enjoy your time at this school. If you let it be, it'll be a great experience and you will have found friends that will last you a lifetime."

Natsu nodded in agreement to his statement, and he had come to the realization that he was to give Lucy a tour of the school. And he was right, _for the most part._

"Well thank you very much, uh, Makarov. Me and Natsu will be on our way now." Lucy said, grabbing Natsu's arm, causing him to blush, but in turn he led her out of the room. Once they were out of the room, Lucy looked to Natsu and asked, "So where can we find this MiraJane person?"

"Mira? What do you mean?" He asked, suddenly struck by confusion.

"Yeah, you know, so she can give us the tour?" She replied.

"Us?"

"You're a first year too Natsu, Makarov said that the most you know is maybe the boy's dorm. But I'm going to need more than that, and so will you." Lucy answered.

Natsu pondered on what she said, and realized he too was pretty lost in the school. He had a meet on the day of the freshman tour, so he was pretty much going into the school blind. "I guess you're right. Here follow me. I know where we can find Mira." And with that, just like earlier in the day, he grabbed hold of her wrist and began sprinting off.

They arrived at a small Fairy Tail cafe on campus, where behind the counter stood a pale girl, with long white hair, where her bangs were tied into a ponytail. She was wiping off a glass, when she saw Natsu.

"Oh, hello Natsu!" She said cheerfully. "Who is this young lady?"

"She is the newest member of Fairy Tail!" Natsu responded with his signature grin, and I gave her a smile of my own.

"How exciting. I assume you came to me for a tour?" She asked even though she already knew the answer they would give.

"Yeah. Sorry about missing the last tour… But I had a meet." Natsu apologized.

"Oh, it's no problem Natsu. I'd be happy to give you a tour now!" She set the glass down and slowly walked out from behind the counter. "Shall we go then?"

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _So I have already started working on the next chapter, and the next chapter the whole gang will be introduced! Y'all must be so excited for that, because I know I am. I wanted to put them in this chapter, but it didn't work out. Sorry! But chapter three will be posted tomorrow or on Wednesday. Whenever I find the time to just sit and write. Plus, since I posted chapter five of 'Sing Like An Angel, Shine Like A Star' this morning, I have to post chapter six of that before chapter three of this story. Nonetheless, the next chapter will be out soon, and it's not like i give you guys super short chapters. All of my chapters are at least two thousand words. Sometimes they are three thousand. Anyhow reply, favorite, follow or just plain read (although I recommend one of the first three). See ya later!_

 _Forever After,_

 _The Author, Madalyn._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _Phew! I almost didn't finish this chapter tonight! But I sat down and wrote wrote wrote! Right after I finish writing this chapter I have to finish writing chapter six of 'Sing Like An Angel, Shine Like A Star'. It's already halfway done though, so that one won't take as long as this one. But I said that chapter three of this would be out within two days. Well, guess what? Two days is up and I'm chapterless! So let me be the first to say, AHHHHHHHHHH! Now that I got that over with, let's get onto the story!_

 _P.S_

 _Okay so I'm quickly adding this in at ten o'clock. For any and all grammatical and spelling errors below, I apologize but my computer is dying and I need to post this and my charger is downstairs. I don't think it should be too bad (just wait I'll look back to check out my work and die at how amateurish the writing appears! Anyway that's all! Please enjoy!_

 _-_ _((_ _・⊥・_ _))_ _-_

MiraJane was happily guiding the two wizards throughout the school, showingoff all of the best Fairy Tail and F.W.A had to offer. She had already showed them all the classrooms and passed out their schedules, and since they were the last two to take the tour they had identical schedules. Starting with S-class training taught by Gildarts, then onto Spell Style with Macao and Wakaba. From there they had Individual Magic training, where their teacher was Reedus. Next they had Understanding Script Magic taught by Freed. Their last class was Fight Technique with Alzack and Bisca. ( _ **Super quick author's note:**_ _thought I'd let you know that the characters ages are from before the seven year jump. Except with Romeo! I wanted to have Romeo in the story so he is aged those seven years but everyone else is how they were from before the jump. And I can do that because it's my Fanfiction!_ _ **Now back to your regularly scheduled story!**_ )

Lucy was in awe over the school. She was thrilled to go to all the different classes, and learn so much more on how to control and develop her powers and abilities.

"You look happy Luce." Natsu stated, with Lucy barely comprehending what he was saying.

She simply managed a, "mm-hmm," and a nod. While at the same time, Mira was leading them to the last classroom, where they would learn fight technique.

Natsu scoffed as they neared the room. "I don't see why I even need to even go through this class." He shared a toothy grin with the girls. "Everyone at this school knows I'm a great fighter."

"Someone sounds arrogant and cocky…" Lucy mumbled under her breath, but apparently it was loud enough for both of her companions to hear.

"She's right Natsu. You shouldn't doubt your fellow wizards." Mira's eyes were squinted shut due to the smile apparent on her face. She eyed Lucy, asking a question that Lucy couldn't decipher. It took her a minute to understand what MiraJane was asking with her eyes.

"Oh… Umm… Like me!" She said, directing her thumb into her chest, sporting a simple grin, attempting a special confidence. One that Natsu could see right through.

"Not to be rude Luce, but," he started, his voice teasing, "I don't think you could beat me."

This lit a fuse in Lucy. She always hated being perceived as weak, and yet, it appeared that was how most people saw her. "Excuse me! You think that you can beat me! Ha!" She exclaimed. "I would like to see you try and beat my spirits!"

Natsu simply chuckled from somewhere deep in his throat. "Anytime Luce!"

"You two are so cute!" Mira squeaked in unbelievable excitement. "But, right now you can't fight. You'll have to save that for your classes. Alzack and Bisca's includes sparing so in a few days you can settle this adorable lovers spat!"

"Lovers spat!?" The arguing two screeched in unison.

"For now, I'd love to show you to the girl dorm and the girls lounge. Natsu, you already know your way around the boys lounge and dorm so I'm sure you can show Lucy." She simply stated, that signature smile of hers never faltering. "So, follow me!" She waved the two her way to follow her.

MiraJane led them both into a large section of the building where the entrance door had written on it _Girls Lounge._ She opened up the door, and immediately caught sight of a red haired girl with impeccable beauty.

"Erza!" She squealed, running over to the girl who was now identified as Erza. She ran up and gave the girl a big hug, Erza just standing there stunned by the sudden embrace. Mira quickly released her before turning around and facing Lucy. "Lucy! Come here! I want you to meet someone!" Lucy slowly walked over, Natsu trailing behind.

He threw a hand up to wave to Erza. "Hey Erza! How you been?"

"I've been well Natsu. And you?" She asked before adding, "Not fighting I hope?"

Natsu's eyes widened and he quickly threw his hands up shaking them wildly. "Of course not!"

MiraJane let out a slight giggle. "Anyway, Lucy, I'm sure you've already gathered that this is Erza. She is a junior or a third year, same as me."

Lucy extended her hand in front of Erza, and Erza grabbed Lucy's hand giving it a rather rough shake. Lucy winced slightly but shook back the pain. "Nice to meet you! My names Lucy!"

"Erza!" She stated boldly. Their hands separated, and she eyed the three people with a questioning look. "Are you new here Lucy?"

"Yeah. Mira's just taking me and Natsu on a tour of the school." She explained to the scarlet haired wizard, soon realizing she was clueless as to what type of magic she used. "If you don't mind me asking, Erza, Mira, what type of magic do you use?"

"I use takeover magic, along with my whole family." MiraJane answered.

"And I use requip Magic. I'm one of the best at it too!" Erza said, all too obviously boasting her already large ego, and yet at the same time, she seemed to have a certain modesty to her, as if to say, 'there still is someone better'.

"Me and Erza have already been promoted to S-class." Mira attempted an explanation to Lucy. "But we are still in school because we have yet to graduate and so we can still improve our abilities!"

All the sudden a girl sitting at the counter to a cafe spoke up. She had dark brown hair, and obviously, a distaste for clothing. "No need to brag Mira!"

"Oh Cana! I'm not bragging, simply explaining!" Mira called back to the brunette named Cana, who now stood from her stool with a bottle of something that was most definitely not water. She headed over to the group, and as she neared the smell of alcohol was obvious. "Cana! Haven't we already explained, no alcohol on campus!" Mira semi-yelled. Lucy and Natsu snickered, earning a death glare from Erza that completely silenced them.

"Yeah yeah." Cana threw up her hand to wave off the takeover Mage. "Anyway, so Lucy, you're new huh?" Lucy gave a nod to confirm her statement. "Well, what kind of magic do you use?"

Lucy plastered a bright smile on her face. "I'm a celestial wizard. And you Cana?"

"I use card magic." She stated. "Do you got any _good_ spirits?" Lucy saw Erza shake her head in disapproval, while MiraJane just giggled slightly. Natsu obviously didn't notice the insinuation, being the dense guy he is.

Lucy simply giggled before responding. "I actually do have someone you may like. His name is Loke. Or really Le-" she stopped, noticing the shocked look on all their faces. "What?"

"Did you say Loke? Orange hair? Glasses?" Natsu inquired.

"You know Leo?" Lucy asked, confused by the immaculate description of her spirit.

"Leo? Or Loke?" Erza questioned the confused blonde.

Simply, she answered. "They are one and the same. Leo is Loke and Loke is Leo. I found him one day, suffering from living in the human world for so long. At first I didn't know him to be a celestial spirit, but soon enough he explained everything to me. I saved him, and now, we have a contract. Did you guys meet him while he was living here?"

"Our friend Loke, randomly disappeared one day. No explanation, just gone. We searched for him but decided it was a lost cause." Cana explained with a heavy heart. "He had been acting strange for a while, and there was anything we could do to snap him out of it. Headmaster told us it was time to let him go."

Natsu chuckled, but not as if he found the whole situation comical, but almost like he was trying to lift a weight of his chest, and a laugh was the only way to manage that. "Guy was one hell of a player but damn! I do miss him."

Mira put a supporting hand in Natsu before nodding in agreement. "We all do."

"If you'd like, I can summon him." Lucy was walking on eggshells. She was so scared of knocking everyone over the edge.

"Can you?" Erza said in her normal time, but she had pleading eyes.

Lucy nodded, then pulled out her keys and off of the loop she pulled of Leo's key. "Gate of the lion! Leo!" She shouted, her arming doing a series of movements. A bright light followed her words and there appeared Loke, pushing up his glasses with his eyes closed.

Opening his eyes he said. "What can I-" but stopped when he saw his old friends standing before him. "Na-Na-Nat." He turned to face Erza. "Er-Er-Erz." Then onto MiraJane. "Mir-Mira!" And lastly Cana. "Ca-Ca-Cana." Other than their names, the orange haired male was speechless.

"Loke, that really you man?" Natsu finally asked the question on everyone's mind. Like swallowed hard and gave a nod. Natsu jumped into a hug around Loke, soon joined by Erza, Mira, and Cana.

"You guys don't hate me for leaving?" He finally mustered the courage to ask.

Cana laughed. "We wish you hadn't been so rash, but it's obvious you had some business to attend to." She gestured to Lucy who just stood there smiled. That caused Loke to chuckle with Cana. Soon the whole group was talking like old times, and Lucy thought she would let them get reacquainted, so she went to go sit on a stool by the cafe counter.

Sitting there, she had gotten a smoothie and was unexpectedly joined by a short blue haired girl. "Hi! I saw you talking to Natsu and the others! I thought I'd see what all the fuss is about."

Lucy giggled at the comment. "No fuss over me. The fuss is over Loke." She said festering to the group with her thumb.

"Wait! Loke's back!?" The blue haired girls eyes bugged out.

"Yep. He is a spirit of mine." She stated simply.

"He's a celestial spirit!?" She looked taken aback but then laughed. "Now that would be one hell of a twist for a novel!"

"You like to read?" Lucy inquired.

"Duh!" She stated as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet. "Oh where are my manners! I'm Levy! I'm a script Mage."

"I'm Lucy." She said and then with a content sigh continued. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one interested in literature. I lost reading and writing! I'm even writing my own novel!" Lucy was ecstatic now.

"Seriously! Lu! You gotta let me be the first to read it!" Levy was joining Lucy on the ecstatic train.

"I don't know…"

"Please Lu!" Levy begged.

With a sigh of defeat, Lucy gave in. "Alright alright. You can be the first."

Levy was about to squeal in excitement when a tall and bulky guy came up behind her. He had black long hair, dark red eyes, and studs lining his face.

"Oi! Shrimp! You ready to go?" He asked Levy.

"Yes Gajeel!" She said even more excited than before. "Oh before we go! Lucy, this is Gajeel. Gajeel this is Lucy!"

"Sup Bunny Girl?" Gajeel said to Lucy.

"Bunny girl?" She asked.

"Don't ask!" Levy waved off her question. "He is known for his weird as hell nicknames. Anyway, see ya Lu!" She said turning and walking off with Gajeel.

"See ya!" She shouted at her retreating figure.

Natsu walked up behind Lucy, placing a hand on her shoulder, causing the blonde to jump. "EEEK!" She turned around to see whose hand was rested atop her shoulder when her eyes landed on Natsu. Lucy placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Oh! Natsu! It's just you!" She sounded relieved but then changed her demeanor completely, slapping his arm. "What the hell!? You scared the bejeebus out of me!"

Natsu couldn't hold back his laugh. "Bejeebus? You sure are weird Luce! Oh and," he started, bringing a hand up to the part of his arm that Lucy hit. A small hand print was painted in red on his arm. "Owe! What was that for?"

"For scaring me!" She screeched.

"How was I suphposed to know you were so darn jumpy?" His voice was filled with laughter. Lucy felt completely mesmerized and wondered how he could be so joyful. How is voice could sound so completely happy and cheerful. Like a sunny day in which the forecast was a zero percent chance of rain _and_ clouds.

"You should have guessed from my trust issues." Lucy stated nervously, but still managed to say her words 'matter of factly'.

"Alright! It's noted! Don't startle Lucy and don't ask her to trust someone she doesn't know." Natsu was counting along on his fingers and after the two things looked back at Lucy. "Anything else I should know about you?"

Lucy smirked in a playful manner. "Maybe later." She spoke teasingly.

"So Luce, Loke had to leave. So maybe we could check out your room now!" He seemed so excited to see her room, which struck Lucy by surprise. But, she too was thrilled to see her living quarters; therefore, she didn't ask.

"Yeah! Sounds like a great idea! Let's go ask Mira to take us there!" She exclaimed.

Together they went to Mira, asked if she would lead them to Lucy's room, in which MiraJane happily obliged. The walked down a long corridor, rooms lining the hall. She guided Lucy down to a room near the end.

"Here you go!" Mira exclaimed. "Room seventy-six! Next door to you is Wendy. She's a first year like you, but much younger."

"Natsu didn't you mention a Wendy earlier?" Lucy asked the pinkette.

"Yeah, I've known her for a long time. She, like me, is also a dragon slayer. And I think of her as a little sister." Natsu said simply.

"Aww that's sweet!" Lucy squealed.

"Anyway, across the hall from you is another first year. Her name is Juvia." Lucy was starting wonder how MiraJane's cheeks never hurt from all that smiling.

Natsu snickered causing Lucy to snap out of her space out. "Gray and her are probably in the middle of a make out session."

"Natsu!" Mira yelled. There was a commotion in the room that was supposedly Juvia's. And suddenly the sound of a door unlocking was heard, just to have Juvia's door creak open.

"What the!?" A boy with blue black hair shouted.

"Ah, cool it ice pop!" Natsu insulted the man, now known as ice pop.

"Is this Gray?" Lucy questioned.

The two boys continued their stupid insults, throwing them back and forth. "Yes Lucy, this is Gray. And, Juvia!" Mira screamed into the room, causing the boys to cover their ears. A bluenette appeared in the doorway. "This is Juvia."

"Hello Juvia!" Lucy excitedly said. "My names Lucy! I'm a celestial wizard! You?"

"I am the rain woman. Stay away from my beloved Gray! I saw you looking at him!" Juvia was giving Lucy a death glare that felt as if it could pierce into your soul. ( _ **Another super quick authors note:**_ _so I have to let you know why Juvia is not in third person point of view when speaking. I watch the dub, not the sub. Hate on me for it all you want! I've heard it all! I just prefer the dub, but anyway, because of that I'm used to Juvia being in first person point of view. I really hope her point of view is not a deal breaker._ _ **Back to your regularly scheduled story!**_ )

"I don't have any interest in Gray, don't worry." Lucy stated as she waved her hands in defense.

"Oh? Then do you like Natsu?" Juvia said with a quirked brow. Lucy's face took on a red shade that very well rivaled Erza's hair.

"I-I-I… What! N-no! Of course now! I-I just m-met the guy!" Lucy said in a spazzed way.

"But if you like Natsu, then I won't have to worry about you going after my Gray." Juvia said in a devilish sweet way.

Lucy let out a giggle. "Trust me, you don't have to worry about that anyway." Juvia simply nodded, then moved to Grays side. He draped an arm over shoulders and planted a kiss on his girlfriend's forehead.

"Gray, why do you have to suck face _all_ day." Natsu asked in tired manner.

"You're just jealous that you don't have a girl!" Gray retorted.

"I could get any girl I wanted ice breath!" Natsu yelled back.

"Sure you could flame brain!"

"Is it always like this?" Lucy leaned over to MiraJane, whispering in her ear.

"Pretty much!" She said with a giggle. "Anyway, Lucy, check your room out!"

"Okay!" Lucy pulled out the room key Makarov had given her and slid it into the lock. Turning it slightly, she heard the click and opened the door. Upon opening its she saw it to be simply, and yet beautifully, decorated. There was a simple oak dresser with an attached mirror on one side of the room. On the opposite side of the room was a

simple bed, with a sky blue comforter, white sheets, and white based pillows with blue polka dots. The headboard to the bed had intricate detail, and in the center of it was the Fairy Tail logo. In the corner of the room was a walk in closet, empty of course. And on the side there was a desk, with a few shelves. "It needs some of my touch."

"Sure does!" Natsu exclaimed. "I had forgotten how empty the room is when you first receive it."

"Empty, maybe. Full of potential, for sure!" Lucy was in awe over the sight of her new room, while Natsu just happily stared at his new classmate.

 _I don't know what the hell you're doing to me Lucy Heartfilia, but I do know that I want to know you better._

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _Wow! That took forever to write! Taking care of a puppy and writing in your free time (which there is very little of) is hard! But I did it. I wrote about three thousand words for y'all too! My way of saying I'm sorry for making you wait longer than promised. But I hope the quality and length of this chapter made up for it. I wonder how many people actually read these long authors notes that I write. Well, no matter, I'm still gonna write them for those who read them. I'd like to give out a quick thanks to the replies I've seen. They have truly touched my heart! I love y'all so darn much! I'll try and update soon but I have yet to update my other story, and sadly (for you guys), that one comes first. But I plan on updating that one tomorrow, so maybe I'll update this one the next day. Anyway, see ya next chapter!_

 _Forever After,_

 _The Author, Madalyn_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _ **Authors note:**_

 _Wow, I can't believe I am already on chapter four of this story. But I'm so thrilled to those of you are enjoying it, enjoying it. That's my dream, that my work will be loved and appreciated by those who read it. I hope my original work finds a way to touch those who read it. Anyway, thank you so very much for taking the time to read this fiction. To take the time out of your day to check out my work. I know it's not my best, but it's hard to make someone else's original work as good as if it were yours, but it's not. Fairy Tail belongs to, I believe someone named Hiro Mashima (pardon my butchering of the spelling of her name. I've only seen her name on others credits to her.). Anyway, after you read this chapter please review (criticism, as long as it's in a friendly manner, is welcomed) or favorite or follow. Thank you so very much! And enjoy chapter four of Fairy Tail Hits The Books!_

 _Forever After,_

 _The Author, Madalyn_

 _-_ _((_ _・⊥・_ _))_ _-_

Natsu had taken Lucy on a shopping trip to pick up some stuff for her room, while she protested greatly against it, her attempts were futile. The young man insisted upon helping his new friend to make the room all her own. They were currently on their way to _Bins,_ a local furniture store in south Magnolia.

"Natsu, you really don't have to do all of this for me." Lucy said to Natsu as they walked across the street while the crosswalk sign allowed them to. Natsu had politely suggested taking a taxi, but Lucy refused, saying that if it wasn't to far of a walk then why waste the money. (Really she just didn't want the poor guy to have to deal with his motion sickness for such a short trip.)

Natsu chuckled slightly. "Of course I do Luce! You're my friend! And I always want to help out my friends. Where would I be without them?"

Lucy smiled at his statement. _He's so sweet and at the same time, so damn naive._ She finally let out a snicker. "Hope you have good judgement."

His face contorted into one of confusion. "Not sure. It's never been questioned." He had a finger on his chin, tapping it in thought. Then her turned to Lucy. "Why do you say that anyway?"

"Stabbing others in the back seems to be a common hobby of the human race. Wouldn't you agree?" She wore a weak and pained smile, causing Natsu to feel kind of bad for the girl in front of him. He had already been made aware of her trust issues, but until now, he hadn't realized how deep that went. Such pain could be seen in her chocolate eyes.

 _What trauma did she suffer to be put into this state?_ Natsu thought, and he really wanted to just ask her, but he knew that was not an option. It was her choice to open up to him, and he should wait until she came to him on her own divine.

"You know Luce, one bad apple doesn't ruin the bunch." Natsu was now staring at the clouds, heaving a sigh as he said his words. Lucy stared at him, her pain being rewritten with amusement.

She chuckled slightly. "Since when are you all philosophical?" She asked, causing a confused look from Natsu. She waved off her question, guessing Natsu didn't know what _philosophical_ meant. "Anyway, one bad apple, at least in my opinion, can ruin the whole orchard." Her lips were turned down as she said that.

"Just to be clear, we are talking about people right?" Natsu asked, earning a facepalm from Lucy.

"Yes idiot!" She screeched.

"Yaaah! Damn! Watch your volume will you?" He laughed. "Mind telling me who the bad apple you're talking about is? Or is it to personal?"

"Not to be rude, but it took a lot to trust you to safely deliver me to the academy." She said with a laugh.

Natsu grinned and nodded his head in understanding. "I get it. Well…" He scratched the back of his neck, "really I don't. But I can accept if you aren't ready to talk to me about it. Just a FYI, I am here for you." Natsu had his hands in his pockets, and was releasing a very cool aura.

Lucy couldn't help but smile as she nodded her head. She really wanted to trust this guy. Lucy had lacked an individual she could rely on since her mother passed away. Her father had become so cruel afterwards, therefore there was no turning to him when she needed someone to confide in. She truly hoped that soon, she would be able to trust Natsu.

"We're here!" Natsu stated happily. Lucy took her eyes off the ground to see a decently sized building with a sign on top with the word _Bins_ written on it.

Taking a glance through the the window, she saw the wonderful product the store had stocked. She heaved a sigh. "I don't think I can afford this. It was a nice gesture for you to take me here, but I'm pretty much broke." Her eyes had reclaimed their position on the ground.

"I'll pay for you this time. And then when we get back we will go on a mission, and you can pay me back. Deal?" Lucy looked at him, bewilderment in her eyes. A small grin took hold on her face.

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me." Lucy said sadly.

"What if I said that I was offering?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I would say you're very kind, almost to a fault. But nonetheless, I still can't let you do that. Do you realize how much money that would be?!" She inquired in a rhetorical manner. "I can't accept such an offering from you, as nice as it is. You just met me, and I don't plan to mooch off of the guy I just met."

"You're weird."

"Am not!" Lucy retorted.

"Are too! I'm offering, and it's not like you won't be paying me back." He said causing Lucy to think over his gesture, considering he made a valid point. "Luce, this is what friends are for."

 _He did it again._ She thought with a goofy smile on her face. _He called the girl he just met his friend. And I really liked hearing it. Are we, are we… Friends? No! No way! I just met the guy! He could be terrible! I don't want to take that risk!_

"I don't think we have achieved the level of friends yet." Lucy said, still staring at the stores window. "But, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Great!" Natsu said, retrieving Lucy's hand and dragging her inside. As soon as they walked through the doors, Natsu turned to Lucy to make a small comment. "Oh! And before I forget. Whether you like it or not. We are friends now. Might as well accept it!"

Lucy stood there stunned as Natsu attempted to pull her further into the store. She was at loss for words, and her face was beginning to heat up. She took a deep breath before a small smile crept it's way onto her face. "Okay." She breathed the words out and then let Natsu pull her away into the store.

They returned back to Lucy's room, a truck scheduled to arrive at six o'clock. By the time they got back it was already five, so they only had an hour before their arrival.

She turned to Natsu. "You can chill in here if you'd like. I'm gonna take a shower before they get here." She reached into her yet to be unpacked suitcase, grabbing an outfit, hiding her lingerie in her shirt and skirt that she would be wearing so Natsu wouldn't see it, and waltzed into the bathroom. She slipped out of her clothes, taking a minute to stare at herself in the mirror. She eyed her body cautiously.

" _If we are to get you a proper husband that will benefit the families fortune, you need to lose a few pounds Lucy! I will not have such a cow for a daughter!"_

She cringed at the memory of her father's harsh words. She realized that a tear was falling down her cheek as she couldn't help but see only a _pretty_ girl in the mirror. With how many times her father insisted she wasn't as beautiful as her mother, Lucy began to believe it. She still felt pretty, and did all she could to exude confidence. But on the inside, she felt as if she wasn't good enough. Lucy would never reduce to saying she was worthless, but she felt as if her father was right. She wasn't beautiful, she was simply pretty. In her eyes, she was a rag doll, trying to live up to her mother who was made from porcelain.

Finally, she tore her eyes from the mirror and placed a hand on the nozzle in the shower. She watched as the hot water flowed, and a thick steam clouded the room.

Finishing up her shower she looked around the bathroom in search of a towel. But a towel was nowhere to be found. _Shoot!_ She thought. Lucy slowly crept out of the shower, and slightly creaked the bathroom door open.

"Uh Natsu?" She asked not looking out into the room.

She waited patiently for a response, and soon a groggy voice spoke. "Yeah?"

"You see, I forgot, you know, a towel…" She was beat red in the bathroom hiding her face behind the door.

Natsu chuckled. "They are on your dresser. Would you like me to grab you one?"

"Mm-hmm…" She mumbled.

"On one condition." He said in a devious voice. Lucy's eyes widened. "I want you to say that we are friends!" His grin turned cheeky, and Lucy couldn't stifle her laugh.

"Fine! We're friends Natsu. Now hand me the towel!" She said, reaching her hand around the door, so Natsu could hand her the fabric without seeing her naked form.

"Okay!" He giddily cheered, then walked over to the plain and boring dresser, grabbed a towel and handed it to her. "Here you go!"

She quickly pulled her arm back into the bathroom, closing the door in the process. Natsu was laughing slightly at how weird she was.

Within minutes she came back out of the bathroom, her hair soaking wet, draping down her back. She wore a simple black skirt and a blue tank top.

She eyed the dresser at the side of the room. "Tell me, why did we get me a new dresser if there was already one here?"

Natsu's eyes danced in a circle as if to say 'seriously!?'. "Simple Luce, that dresser was not your style. But the one you picked out, is!"

"And you know my style?" Lucy questioned with a laugh.

"Not yet! But if that dresser is anyone's style, then I feel pity. They must live one boring life." He said eyeing the plain brown dresser. Lucy's face began to sag. It looked like her father's work desk. And there was no way of saying his life was filled with excitement. His routine consisted of business trips and sitting in his office. He was never around the house, laughing or playing with his daughter. That all ended with the death of her mother.

Natsu noticed the sad look on Lucy's face as her eyes stayed glued to the dresser ahead of her. "You okay?"

Lucy blinked, snapping out of her trance. She brought her face to monotone nature and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure don't sound fine." He didn't want to push the subject but watching Lucy fee such pain, hurt him. He hated it and he wanted to at least know the cause of it.

"I'm a window, aren't I?" She said with a laugh, earning a look of confusion from Natsu. "You can see right through me, and yet, I'll never talk." **(I felt like that was a real cool metaphor and I just wanted to point out that it's an original!)**

"Huh? A window? What happens when you break then?" Natsu asked, still confused by the metaphor presented.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

He smiled. "Windows are made of glass, and glass breaks at some point. So what happens then? Is that when the 'window' finally responds."

She laughed. " I don't know." She declared. "I'll let you know what happens, if and when the window breaks."

"You know if the window would just talk, there would be no worry about breakage." Natsu said pointing a finger at Lucy.

"If the window were talk, then it wouldn't be a very good window, now would it?" She said, hands on her hips. She walked over to her own window, looking through it. "Then again, windows don't really have feelings either. That's where me and the window don't get along too well." She sighed heavily. "I feel too much pain to be a window..." Lucy's words were faded, and all to quiet. Natsu struggled to hear them even with his heightened hearing.

"What caused your pain Lucy? I see it in your eyes you know. Pain and fear. Sure you have happiness there too, but it can't mask your other feelings." Natsu was surprised with himself. It wasn't like him to sound so wise, but with Lucy, the words just seemed to flow. It was a foreign feeling to him.

"You really want to know huh?" Lucy asked and when Natsu nodded she sighed. "Alright, but you have to promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise you won't give me a look of pity." Lucy eyes were pleading.

"I promise." Natsu said, crossing his heart like some school girl, bringing a small smile to Lucy's face.

After a final sigh she began her long explanation. "There was a time when everything in my household was happy. My father had tea parties with me, and my mother would read me fairy tales. But when I was only eight years old, mother was struck ill. My mother was strong and put up one hell of fight against her disease, but in the end, she lost." A small tear trailed down Lucy's face. "She had only lasted six months after finding out she was sick. My mother had past away, knowing full well she was going, in my arms. I was sobbing into her, begging her to fight harder. I told her that she couldn't leave me! I couldn't bear living without my mother. But, she left, and when she left I just cried my eyes out. The doctors told us that she was so brave. She fought so hard. My father and I knew they were attempting to make us feel better, and maybe it helped him. But for me, it just made it harder." Lucy was staring at her hands in her lap, tears streaming down. She held out from sobbing but she was so close to that point. "The funeral was a few days later. Until that day, I had completely fasted. I wouldn't leave my room and I kept my door locked and said I wanted no company. I felt bad for treating my servants, who were family to me, so awful. But I was so broken, I knew they would understand. When we went to the funeral, my father insisted that I look very nice. 'Wear your best dress' he said. He wasn't even. On earned with the fact that it was my _mother's_ funeral. His _wife!_ All he wanted was to present a happy front, as if we were unaffected. Maybe we could have moved on. Maybe I could have moved on. But my father, for him, moving on was out of the question. He changed that day. The day she died." She said clarifying. "He became cruel and power hungry. He didn't care about his daughter, whom was suffering in those walls. My father did his best to make the daughter of Layla Heartfilia's life a living hell. He never beat me, but thinking back. I wish he did. It would have been so much better than all the emotional torment he caused me. He said such nasty things, and I believed them. I _believe_ them. That's why I ran away! I couldn't bear one more day with that man!" She screamed, a sob breaking lose and it was no longer under her control. Her words were gone, and breath was quickening. Lucy continued to keep her eyes directed towards her hands, but a pink haired someone brought her into an embrace.

"I'm sorry Luce. No one should have to go through that." Natsu said, and Lucy quieted her sobs for a mere second to take a glance at his face. She saw the tears on his face, staining his cheeks. She had expected pity, but was surprised to see pain.

She leaned her head into the crook of his neck and just kept crying. After fifteen minutes, they heard the sound of a horn honking.

"Your stuffs here." Natsu stated plainly. Lucy gave a small nod, and moved from her position on Natsu's shoulder. She was walking towards her door when Natsu finally found the courage to speak again. "Thanks again, by the way. You know, for opening up to me."

"Thanks for listening." She said with a smirk and the through in. "Remember your promise."

"Even if I managed to forget, I wouldn't feel pity for you. You're obviously too strong for pity." Natsu said, earning a full out smile and slight blush from Lucy.

"Thanks! Now let's get this room decorated!"

Natsu cheered. Together they left the room, and knocked on the doors nearby. They ended up fetching help from Juvia, Gray (who was still in Juvia's room), and Wendy. Heading outside, they met the people who drove the struck, signed for the delivery and brought everything in, replacing the old boring furniture with the brand new stuff. They had grabbed some accessories also, and when they had finished the room couldn't have looked better. It was simple and yet beautiful. The bedspread was now pink, the desk was now a dark oak with multiple compartment for her writing equipment. They had gotten a really pretty lamp to sit on top of it. The new dresser matched the the desk and had a fancy handle on each drawer. While at the store, they picked up a nice new mirror with an oak trim. As well as they got a lovely light pink rug for the room. Lastly, they picked up some paintings for Lucy to hand on her wall.

"Thanks guys for helping us set it up!" Lucy squealed. She was staring at her room as if it were a treasure trove.

"Now for that mission Luce!" Natsu exclaimed, snapping Lucy out of her trance. "You still have to pay me back. You insisted!"

"Yeah yeah!" Lucy said waving her hand to shut him up.

"Mind if we come? Me and my beloved Gray are in need of some money. I want to buy my beloved something wonderful!" Juvia squealed, now obviously in lala land.

"Yeah, I could use some cash." Gray confirmed, ignoring the visible hearts in Juvia's eyes.

"What about me!?" Wendy cried. "School starts soon, and I have no money for lunch!"

Natsu laughed at his friends, while Lucy just looked a bit uneasy. She didn't like the idea of traveling with total strangers. "Guess it's settled then! The five of us will go on our last summer job before school starts!" Natsu cheered raising a hand.

Three of them joined his hand raising while Lucy just stared. She wanted to scream no way. That this wasn't their deal, but she knew her attempts would be fruitless.

"Come on Luce!" Natsu whined, but Lucy's turned down lips didn't budge.

"I'll still go. I made a promise I'd pay you back, but," she started, "I am not gonna be happy about traveling a with people I don't know."

"Everyone in Fairy Tail is family. So know them or not, you're family, therefore, you must get along with them." Natsu said as if he were Mr. Smart Guy.

"I must?" She quizzed.

Everyone in the group nodded.

"Flame Brain here may be an idiot, but he's right." Gray pointed out.

Lucy sighed. "I've given up on family, but thanks anyway." She mumbled, and Natsu's eyes instantly dropped to the ground. He remembered what she said before about her family life and felt a little guilty. "Anyhow, I said that I would go, so can we? I don't like being in debt."

Natsu heaved a sigh. "Yeah, we can go." He turned to everyone else coming along on the mission. "She'll come around."

"I sure hope so. I feel kind of bad." Wendy said, looking down at her feet. "What made her so sad?"

Natsu put a hand on the young bluenette's shoulder. "Don't worry Wen! Luce is fine. SHe just needs to get to know you guys!" Natsu then grabbed Lucy's hand, causing her to glance up with wide eyes and red cheeks. "So let's go!"

Just as the gang was about to leave, to cats walked into the room. The blue one, Happy, and a white one that Lucy was yet to meet.

"Wendy! If you're going on a mission, then I will be coming along too." The white cat spoke.

Wendy smiled. "I'd love that Carla! Happy would you like to come along too?" She asked the blue feline.

"Sure! Me and Natsu can use the money to buy some yummy fish!" Lucy watched as Happy's mouth watered at the thought of fish.

Lucy stared at everything going on around her. All the smiling faces, and all the happiness. She couldn't help but think they were so lucky to feel such excitement. She wished she could feel that way. She did feel happiness, don't get me wrong, but the happiness she felt was nothing compared to the people (and cats) in front of her. She was now given circumstances in which she could feel such happiness. Her dad was cruel, and her only friends were her spirits, which she treated remarkably well.

"Luce!" Natsu yelled.

Lucy snapped out of her daze. "Mm."

"You were spacing out on us. Come on we're leaving!" He said excitably.

"Right!"

And with that, they left. They had gone down to the main board on the front of the building and searched through the job posters. Eventually they decided on one with a reward of one million jewel. The job was guarding a precious diamond during a big aristocratic party.

Good luck to them!

 _ **Authors Note:**_

 _Boom! Finished with chapter four. So yeah, not to much relationship-y stuff, but it was more backstory. And that backstory is key to the story! Poor Lucy huh? FYI criticism is welcome (as long as it's in a friendly manner), as well as I would appreciate reviews, follows, and favorites!_

 _Forever After,_

 _The Author, Madalyn_


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